- provide the breast pumps and other supplies recommended by a patient's care provider based on the needs of that family in ALL health plans

- cover costs of counseling services for parents in need from the postpartum period throughout the duration of breast feeding The costs of these services are small in comparison to the dramatic health benefits that breastfeeding can provide. Our families deserve this standard of care.

Background:

Many Kaiser plans have found loopholes and "opted out" of providing the breast feeding supplies and support that the Affordable Care Act mandates. Parents with these plans are left without any support to establish one of the single healthiest practices that can be done in a new family.

Of the plans that do receive coverage, many only provide a manual pump. Manual pumps may work for some parents, particularly those that are only occasionally pumping, but they are often highly impractical for those returning to full-time work and attempting to maintain adequate supply. The choice of what pump a parent needs should be based on the number of times they will be pumping, their physical needs, and the recommendations of their care providers. Failure to do so discourages many families from maintaining breast feeding.

Breast feeding exclusively for six months and continuing until the age of two is the recommendation from the most prominent medical agencies in the world. It has been shown as a leading protective factor against multiple morbidities in infants and mothers alike.

Help to call on Kaiser to support new families and healthy babies by removing all barriers to breastfeeding and providing the services recommended by care providers.

Signed,

Zoë Williams

This petition closed over 4 years ago

How this will help

Health insurance companies such as Kaiser Permanente should be providing the highest standard of care for their patients. Breastfeeding has been recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics,...

Health insurance companies such as Kaiser Permanente should be providing the highest standard of care for their patients. Breastfeeding has been recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the US Surgeon General, and the World Health Organization as a practice that provides tremendous health benefits to parents as well as infants, not to mention larger benefits from reduced healthcare costs, lower infant mortality, and less environmental pollution. Despite this, Kaiser Permanente is avoiding providing the supplies and services that would help working families and those in need of more support to breast feed through many of their health plans. Sign this petition today to demand Kaiser comply with international health recommendations and allow families to make the healthiest choice they can.